O T E V I E T N AM W F U N I A R A M United States Allies in the E R H ...

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Introduction (Part 1 of 5)

American Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen fought side by side with their counterparts

from five allied nations in defense of the Republic of (South) Vietnam. The American people

thank, honor, and commend the fighting forces of our allies in the Vietnam War for their

service and sacrifice.

For the United States and its allies, the Vietnam War was a multinational

effort to stem the tide of communist expansion¡ªsupported by America¡¯s

Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union and China¡ªin Southeast Asia. South

Vietnam was a hot spot in a larger Cold War context. As in all conflicts,

a complex web of motivating forces animated the combatants. Lofty ideals

such as friendship, allegiance, and freedom spurred some to engage.

Money, recognition, shared interests, and geo-political advantage played

important roles in inciting action as well.

did not. For many people in these nations, Communist revolutionaries

represented a grave national threat. From their perspective, the war in

Vietnam successfully halted that threat. To one degree or another, leaders

in these countries acknowledge that the multi-decade American presence

in Southeast Asia¡ªand the Vietnam War in particular¡ªwas a positive

factor in the prevention of communist domination in the region.

More Flags

On April 23, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson for the first time publicly

stated, ¡°I would hope that we would see some other flags in [South

Vietnam] ¡­ and that we could all unite in an attempt to stop the spread of

communism in that area of the world, and the attempt to destroy freedom.¡±

His appeal became the basis of the American ¡°More Flags¡± campaign, an

endeavor to encourage wider international participation in the security

of South Vietnam. The United States used the term ¡°Free World¡± in its

efforts to garner participation especially by Western Bloc and other noncommunist countries. Bilateral diplomacy was also brought to bear.

Free World Allies

An American and Korean officer inspect a unit of Korean, American,

Australian, and Vietnamese military policemen in Saigon. (National Archives)

Many nations provided assistance, both military and humanitarian, to

the South Vietnamese people from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. A

total of six nations sent combat troops to fight in South Vietnam against

North Vietnam and the southern-based Viet Cong insurgency in the

1960s and 1970s. These nations were the United States, Australia, New

Zealand, Republic of (South) Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The contributions of the Free World combat allies in Vietnam were

significant, both from political and military standpoints. Historians

and commentators differ in interpreting the motivations not only of the

participating governments, but also of the individual participants. The

South Koreans, Thais, and Filipinos received considerable American

financial support to facilitate their military participation in South

Vietnam. The Australians and New Zealanders, by contrast, served

in Vietnam at their own expense. Negative or ambivalent political

impressions notwithstanding, there was a general consensus among

American military leadership at that time that the Free World allies fought

well. Taken as a whole, the combat effectiveness of the Free World forces

relieved significant pressure on American troops, and played a critical role

in pacifying and securing their assigned areas of operation. Perhaps even

more importantly from the American psychological perspective, every

allied soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who served in Vietnam meant

one less American Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman who had to deploy.

For that simple (if imperfect) calculus alone, Americans were grateful.

In 1965, when the U.S. military moved massively into South Vietnam,

Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines faced internal threats from

armed communist insurgencies, and the communist underground

was still active in Singapore. . . . America¡¯s action ¡­ enabled noncommunist Southeast Asia to put their own houses in order. By 1975,

they were in better shape to stand up to the communists. Had there

been no U.S. intervention, the will of these countries to resist them

would have melted and Southeast Asia would most likely have gone

communist. The prosperous emerging market economies of ASEAN

[the Association of South East Asian Nations] were nurtured during

the Vietnam War years.

¡ª Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore

U.S. citizens and their allies continue to wrestle with the Vietnam

War¡¯s legacies. While western nations mostly regard the war¡¯s outcome

as a defeat of the United States and its allies, that is not the consensus

everywhere. Thailand, for example, celebrates ¡°the American War¡± as an

unmitigated victory, and it is a viewpoint shared by others in Southeast

Asia. While Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam came under Communist

regimes, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand

The inauguration ceremony marking the formal opening of the

International Military Assistance Office building (IMAO) of the Republic

of Vietnam. The Color Guards represent South Vietnam, the United

States, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Australia, the Philippines, the

Republic of Korea (South Korea), New Zealand, and Thailand. Cholon,

Vietnam, April 8, 1965 (National Archives)

By the Numbers

A quick glance at the numbers provides an indication of the service and

sacrifice of the Free World allies. The New Zealanders had the highest

ratio of fatal casualties to participants at 2.18 percent, with the Americans

a very close second at 2.15 percent. The South Koreans were next at 1.4

percent, and both the Thais and Australians were under 1 percent. Nine

Filipinos were killed in the conflict. Of the allies, the Australians served

in Vietnam for the longest period of time, but they deployed relatively

few military personnel before 1965, and, as with the Americans, they

were advisers rather than combatants before then. The first South

Korean combat troops arrived shortly after the Americans escalated their

involvement by deploying combat troops in 1965.

Allied Nation

Timeframe

Total Number of

Military Participants

Total Number

Killed

United States of America

1962¨C1973

2,709,918

58,318

Republic of Korea

1965¨C1973

320,000+

4,407

Australia

1962¨C1972

61,000+

500

Thailand

1965¨C1972

40,000+

351

New Zealand

1964¨C1972

3,800+

83

Philippines

1966-1969

10,000

9

Allied Strength in Vietnam, 1964¨C1972

Year

The Free World Military Assistance Forces Headquarters building in

Saigon. An Australian Land Rover 1/4 ton truck and three Volkswagen

Kombi Vans (with red kangaroos) are parked in the car park.

(U.S. Department of the Army)

Australia

South Korea

New Zealand

Philippines

Thailand

1964

200

200

30

20

__

1965

1,560

20,620

120

70

20

1966

4,530

25,570

160

2,060

240

1967

6,820

47,830

530

2,020

2,220

1968

7,660

50,000

520

1,580

6,000

1969

7,670

48,870

550

190

11,570

1970

6,800

48,540

440

70

11,570

1971

2,000

45,700

100

50

6,000

1972

130

36,790

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Source: The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by Spencer C. Tucker

A GRATEFUL NATION THANKS AND HONORS OUR VIETNAM WAR VETERANS



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The Republic of (South) Korea (Part 2 of 5)

Korean Tiger Division instructor supervises Vietnamese students on the rifle

range, August 1968. (National Archives)

This is a famous picture in South Korea. The words ??? ??????

written across the center mean: ¡°Do not aim at this area.¡± Above that is a girl¡¯s

name and an expression of loving sentiments.

The Vietnam War was South Korea¡¯s first major military engagement since the

signing of the Korean War armistice in 1953. All Korean troops in Vietnam were

volunteers. The United States thanks and honors the Korean veterans who served

in Vietnam.

South Korean military participation in the Vietnam War began in the

autumn of 1965 and did not end until the last American combat troops

departed. The first Republic of Korea soldiers and marines (commonly

referred to by American forces as ROKs, pronounced ¡°rocks¡±) began

arriving several months after the first American combat troops arrived.

Military observers asserted that the ROKs fought bravely; many said

fiercely. Their tactics and techniques have often drawn criticism from

some commenters as being unnecessarily brutal, but their bravery and

discipline were not questioned, even by their enemies.

A squad leader keeps in touch with other elements as 1st Battalion, Cavalry

Regiment, ROK Tiger Division move through dense Central Highlands near

Binh Khe in search of enemy, September 1969. (National Archives)

The success and contributions of Korean forces in Vietnam are to some

degree unsung and underappreciated outside of military circles. Indeed,

for many Americans who served with them, their fighting abilities were

the stuff of legend. Korean troops recorded a high casualty ratio against

Communist forces and captured a large number of prisoners and vast

stores of weapons and war materiel. In so doing, they denied sanctuary

to the communist insurgency and disrupted Viet Cong activity in their

assigned areas of operation.

ROK code of conduct in the Vietnam War:

To the enemy, be courageous and fearless.

To the Vietnamese people, behave with kindness and warmness.

To our allies, show them we are well disciplined and reliable.

Perhaps most importantly from the United States¡¯ perspective,

contemporaries believed Korean troops were as effective as their American

counterparts in combat, which took the burden off U.S. troops in the

Koreans¡¯ area of operations. The United States subsidized Korean forces¡¯

participation, and in some ways the Vietnam War proved an economic

boon for the fledgling nation.

From 1965 to 1973, more than 300,000 ROK soldiers and marines served in

South Vietnam. That number is second only to U.S. and South Vietnamese

service members, and more than all the rest of the allies combined. Nearly

5,000 Koreans sacrificed their lives in the war.

ROK Areas of Operation

In March 1965, a CIA report described South Vietnam¡¯s principal

problem thus: ¡°The Viet Cong are continuing to make significant gains

¡­ particularly along the low coastal regions. ¡­ The [South Vietnamese]

government is clearly on the defensive ¡­. Pacification remains stalled

and further deterioration of rural security is expected.¡±

The response to the CIA¡¯s assessment arrived in the form of the ROK Army

Capital ¡°Tiger¡± Division and the ROK 2nd Marine ¡°Blue Dragon¡± Brigade.

These Korean units were primarily responsible for the pacification and

documents that ordered NVA [North Vietnamese Army] units to avoid

contact with ROKs at all cost, unless 100 percent certain of victory.¡± While

most of the apocryphal stories about which units the North Vietnamese

truly feared inevitably included the teller¡¯s own, nearly every version of

the tale included Korean troops.

Korean troops use chart to show villagers types of Viet Cong booby traps.

(National Archives)

security of the coastal provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and

Ninh Thuan in II Corps. They undertook the task with vigor. The coastal

areas, especially south of Qui Nhon down to Phan Rang, remained

relatively secure from then onward under the watchful eye of the ROKs.

In September 1966, South Korea sent a second army division, the 9th ¡°White

Horse¡± Division, to take over operations in the southern part of II Corp¡¯s

coastal region. This freed up the ROK marines to move north to assist the

U.S. Marines in Quang Nam province, in I Corps, a dangerous and volatile

region aptly nicknamed ¡°Marine Country¡± by American servicemen.

An analysis of a combat action by Korean Capital Division forces from

January 1968 clearly illustrates the Korean technique. After contact

with an enemy force near Phu Cat, the Koreans ¡°reacting swiftly . . .

deployed six companies in an encircling maneuver and trapped the

enemy force in their cordon. The Korean troops gradually tightened

the circle, fighting the enemy during the day and maintaining their

tight cordon at night, thus preventing the enemy¡¯s escape. At the

conclusion of the sixth day of fighting, 278 NVA had been KIA with

the loss of just 11 Koreans, a kill ratio of 25.3 to 1.

An official U.S. Army study perhaps summed up the general feeling best:

¡°Considered opinion was that it was good the Koreans were ¡®friendlies.¡¯¡±

The Koreans were thorough in their planning and deliberate in their

execution of a plan. They usually surrounded an area by stealth

and quick movement¡­ The enemy feared the Koreans both for their

tactical innovations and for the soldiers¡¯ tenacity... The Koreans

might not suffer many casualties, might not get too many of the enemy

on an operation, but when they brought in seventy-five or a hundred

weapons, the Americans wondered where in the world they got them.

They appeared to have a natural nose for picking up enemy weapons

that were, as far as the enemy thought, securely cached away.

(Vietnam Studies: Allied Participation in Vietnam, by Lieutenant

General Stanley Robert Larsen & Brigadier General James Lawton

Collins, Jr., U.S. Department of the Army)

(Vietnam Studies: Allied Participation in Vietnam, by Lieutenant

General Stanley Robert Larsen & Brigadier General James Lawton

Collins, Jr., U.S. Department of the Army)

American military observers recorded that the ROK forces served with

distinction and valor in Vietnam. Korean troops attained an almost

mythic status among friends and foes alike, and some contemporaries

also accused South Korean troops of using overly aggressive, even brutal

tactics. Tales and legends abounded among U.S. service people of the

ROKs¡¯ strict discipline, toughness, and military prowess. They were said

to be especially efficient and effective in counterinsurgency warfare, small

unit tactics and operations, and hand-to-hand combat.

One legend oft-related by American servicemen was particularly revealing.

A typical version went something like this: ¡°I¡¯ve seen captured enemy

Vietnamese students practice the art of Tae Kwon Do under the supervision

of their Korean instructors, August 1968. (National Archives)

A GRATEFUL NATION THANKS AND HONORS OUR VIETNAM WAR VETERANS



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Thailand (Part 3 of 5)

Thirdly, Thailand¡¯s location was strategically optimal for air operations

in both North and South Vietnam (and also over Laos and Cambodia).

The U.S. Air Force began flying missions from bases in Thailand in

1961, and by the end of the war in 1975 it was operating out of all seven

Royal Thai Air Force bases (Udorn, Ubon, Korat, Takhli, Nhakhon

Phanom, U-Tapao, and Don Muang at Bangkok). The U.S. spent $250

million on construction at these bases, part of the $2 billion overall

that was pumped into the Thai economy over the course of the war.

Thai Queen¡¯s Cobras on a search and sweep mission near the village of Phuoc Tho,

November 1967. (National Archives)

Queen¡¯s Cobra arrival in the Republic of Vietnam, unloading from U.S.

Navy Troop Ship Navarro, September 1967. (National Archives)

Queen¡¯s Cobra during a search and sweep mission in Phuoc Tho, November

1967. (National Archives)

Thailand was a staunch supporter of United States involvement in Vietnam from the outset. Thailand

maintained that it sided with South Vietnam and the United States out of a desire to help the South

Vietnamese and to halt the rise of communism in the region. Some have also pointed to the economic benefits

they received from the U.S. for supporting the Saigon government as another motivating factor. Regardless,

almost all agree that Thai participation benefited President Johnson¡¯s Free World alliance. The United States

owes the Thai veterans of the Vietnam War a debt of gratitude.

From the American government¡¯s point of view, it was critical for

American public support of the war that Thailand accepted shared

responsibility for the defense of Southeast Asia. President Johnson¡¯s

1964 appeal to Thai Prime Minister Kittikachorn Thanom is telling:

By October 1967, the first Thai combat troops had arrived in Vietnam

to fight alongside the Australians, New Zealanders, and U.S. Soldiers

stationed at Camp Bearcat, near Bien Hoa, in II Corps. They were

the Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment (a.k.a. the Queen¡¯s Cobras). In

1968, the Queen¡¯s Cobras were replaced by the Royal Thai Army

Expeditionary Division (a.k.a. the Black Panthers).

Most observers reported that Thai soldiers fought bravely and well

in Vietnam. They were generally well-liked by American service

people, who apocryphally regarded them as the ¡°luckiest¡± soldiers

in Vietnam. Many Thai troops attributed this legendary luck to the

protective powers of their Buddhist amulets, which they professed to

believe rendered them bulletproof. Some Americans claimed to share

that belief, and were grateful that the Thais were quite willing to share

the talismans of their good fortune.

A controversy surrounding Thai soldiers erupted in the United States

when the international press took note of their delight in American

material goods and their rumored association with the Saigon black

market. That coupled with the revelation that the U.S. was subsidizing

their involvement in the war led some antiwar activists to argue that

Thai troops were mercenaries.

The Thai government did receive more U.S. foreign aid during the

Vietnam War than any other country in Southeast Asia save South

Vietnam. Like South Vietnamese troops, Thai soldiers were trained

and equipped by the United States, transported in U.S. ships and

planes, and funded by American taxpayers.

Nonetheless, Thailand shouldered a significant burden in the wars

in Southeast Asia, both in Vietnam and in Laos, where the United

States was embroiled in a covert war against the Communist Pathet

Lao insurgency. Though Laos did fall to a communist regime, the

Thai strategy of containing the threat outside their own borders

succeeded. Thai counterinsurgency skill and expertise helped stanch

the spread of communism into their own country, which in turn

furthered the U.S. goal of maintaining stable non-communist nations

in Southeast Asia.

I am very much aware of and deeply appreciative of steady support

you and your Government are providing. ... It is, nevertheless,

my hope that Thailand will find ways of increasing the scale and

scope of its assistance to Vietnam, as a renewed demonstration of

Free World determination to work together to repel Communist

aggression.

Between September 1967 and February 1972, nearly 40,000 Thai

military personnel served in South Vietnam. Of those, 351 were

killed and 1,358 were wounded. The United States remained grateful

for their service and sacrifice.

Several distinguishing factors made Thailand an excellent U.S. ally in

the region.

Firstly, the Thai government keenly believed that communism posed

a danger not only to their own nation but also to all of Southeast

Asia. They were determined to stifle this threat before it could destroy

them, which dovetailed nicely with American goals in the region.

Secondly, unlike most of Thailand¡¯s neighbors, colonialism had not

left a mark on the collective psyche of the Thai people. Thailand had

never been ruled by a colonial power, and while they had experienced

pressure from the British in Burma to the west, and the French

in Indochina to the east, they had never given up their national

sovereignty. As a result, most Thais harbored notably less antipathy

toward and distrust of Europeans and Americans than did their fellow

Southeast Asians.

Thailand is situated near Vietnam and it will be the next target of

communists, as they have already proclaimed. This is why Thailand

realizes the necessity to send Military units to help oppose communist

aggression when it is still at a distance from our country. The

government has therefore decided to send a combat unit, one battalion

strong, to take an active part in the fighting in South Vietnam in the

near future.

¡ª Statement by the Thai government, January 3, 1967.

Thai lieutenant, wearing an assortment of Buddhist amulets, maps out

the route the platoon will take for the day¡¯s operations near Nhon Trac,

October 1967. (National Archives)

A GRATEFUL NATION THANKS AND HONORS OUR VIETNAM WAR VETERANS



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ANZAC (Part 4 of 5)

Three Royal Australian Air Force Caribou aircraft arrive at Tan Son Nhut

Air Base with crew and maintenance personnel to aid in the airlift support

mission in South Vietnam, August 1965. (National Archives)

Members of the 1st Field Squadron of the Royal Australian Engineers use

American mine detectors to search for mines on a small dirt road, August 1970.

(National Archives)

The Australian army¡¯s only serving Victoria Cross recipients stand together in

Saigon, May 1969. (Courtesy: Australian War Memorial)

The coalition of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were valuable allies in the fight to

prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. While both countries faced growing antiwar sentiment

at home, neither wavered in their commitment to the United States and to South Vietnam throughout the

war. Most American soldiers who had contact with these service people from ¡°down under¡± were impressed

by their military professionalism and charmed by their bearing. The United States is grateful to the

Australian and New Zealand veterans of the Vietnam War.

ANZUS

In 1951, Australia, New Zealand and United States signed a Security Treaty

(ANZUS), which was a trilateral agreement designed to protect the nations¡¯

mutual interests in the Pacific. Though the treaty was not formally invoked

for the Vietnam War effort, Australia and New Zealand nevertheless sent

forces¡ªat their own expense¡ªto support the United States in defending

South Vietnam.

Members of Royal New Zealand Artillery carry out a fire mission.

(National Archives)

Australia

By 1961, the Australian government believed

that defeating communism in South

Vietnam was a matter both of principle and

of self-defense, given the assumption that a

communist-dominated Southeast Asia, just to

Australia¡¯s north, represented a threat. By the

end of the summer of 1962 they had sent a team

of 30 advisers, the Australian Army Training

Team Vietnam (AATTV), to assist in training

the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

Two years later, the team more than doubled in

size to 80 advisers embedded with ARVN field

forces and six Royal Australian Air Force DHC-4 Caribou transport planes

(with pilots).They also suffered their first fatal casualty.

When the United States escalated its support for the South Vietnamese by

sending combat troops in 1965, the Australians immediately followed suit.

They committed the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), plus

support forces to serve under operational control of the US Army¡¯s 173rd

Airborne Brigade at Bien Hoa. By the end of 1965, 1RAR had expanded to

include an artillery battery, an engineer unit, an army aviation reconnaissance

flight, and logistic support elements.

The takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to

Australia and all the countries of South and South-East Asia. It must

be seen as part of a thrust by Communist China between the Indian

and Pacific Oceans.

¡ª Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, Hansard, 29 April 1965

armored personnel carriers with .50-caliber machine guns. In the end, the

North Vietnamese and Viet Cong broke off contact. The Aussies lost 18 killed

and 24 wounded, while enemy casualties were officially estimated at some 245

dead and 350 wounded.

Between 1962 and 1973, nearly 60,000 Australian Army, Air Force and Navy

personnel served in South Vietnam. At their peak, there were more than 8,300

Australians in-country at a time. More than 3,000 were wounded and 521 were

killed during the course of the war.

New Zealand

On August 18, 1966, Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian

Regiment¡ªtotaling about 108 men¡ªset out to search and clear enemy forces

from Binh Ba, an old French rubber plantation not far from Saigon. They were

met by a combined Communist force of more than 1,500 North Vietnamese

and Viet Cong troops.

In the first serious exchange of gunfire, face to face with the enemy, the

Australians suffered most of the casualties they would suffer all day. Following

their initial encounter, once Delta Company had set up a defensive perimeter,

the Australian troops fought off multiple waves of attacks over the next four

hours in a heavy rainstorm. They were supported by artillery fire, resupplied

by two Royal Australian Air Force UH-1 ¡°Huey¡± Iroquois helicopter crews,

and reinforced by another Australian company that arrived at nightfall in

The 161st Battery of the Royal New Zealand Artillery arrived at Bien Hoa in

July 1965, initially to serve with the Aussies under command of the U.S. Army¡¯s

173rd Airborne Brigade. They later moved with the Australian task force to

Nui Dat, where they served with Royal Australian Artillery field regiments

until May 1971.

In 1967, New Zealand further committed two rifle companies from the 1st

Battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, who fought side-byside with the Australians in the 1ATF.

The nation also provided several New Zealand Royal Air Force UH-1 Iroquois

helicopter pilots and, in 1969, sent a small troop of the New Zealand Special

Air Service who were also attached to their Australian counterparts.

Between 1964 and 1972, about 3,500 New Zealand military personnel served

in South Vietnam, though no more than 550 were in-country at any given

time. They suffered 187 wounded and 37 dead during that timeframe.

Though the Americans and Australians cooperated and fought well together,

the Australian command structure did not wholeheartedly endorse American

tactics, or American rules of engagement, which they sometimes perceived to

be unnecessarily restrictive and counterproductive. They wanted to fight their

own way. So when, in 1966, the Australian government increased its troop

commitment to a task force of two battalions with combat logistic support,

the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF), they took the opportunity to separate

from the 173rd Airborne and become an independent command with its own

area of operations in Phuoc Tuy Province, based at Nui Dat. The 1st Australian

Logistic Support group (1ALSG) was established nearby at the port and airfield

facility of Vung Tau.

The Australian ¡°diggers¡± (a term widely used to describe ANZAC troops since

the Gallipoli landings in World War I) were effective and capable soldiers. The

Battle of Long Tan illustrates this point.

Like Australia, New Zealand¡¯s government was a reliable ally in the war in

Southeast Asia. As early as 1963, they provided concrete support to the South

Vietnamese people by sending a civilian surgical team to provide medical

assistance in Qui Nhon. By the summer of 1964, they had sent 25 Army

engineers to assist with infrastructure reconstruction projects. In the summer

of 1965, they sent combat forces.

Platoon sergeant and radio operator of the 8th Platoon, C Company, 7th Royal

Australian Regiment during an ambush patrol in the Nui Thi Vai Hills, February 1968. (National Archives)

The [Australian] army took over a stretch of Back Beach at Vung

Tau, on the coast near Saigon, and during the war ran its own

fortified recreation centre complete with surfboards, sailing boats,

water skiing and go-karts, plus bars, a swimming pool, a concert

stage and mini-golf beside the beachfront clubhouse. The one nod of

recognition that a war was actually going on was there in the barbed

wire and machinegun emplacements. At the Peter Badcoe surf club,

named after an Australian Victoria Cross winner, the soldiers could

stow their weapons, have a hot shower, change into civilian clothes,

enjoy a meat pie and a beer.

¡ª Stuart Scott, Charlie Don¡¯t Surf, But Aussies Do

A GRATEFUL NATION THANKS AND HONORS OUR VIETNAM WAR VETERANS



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Philippines (Part 5 of 5)

PHILCAG-V provided medical care to Vietnamese families throughout Tay

Ninh Province, September 1969. (National Archives)

PHILCAG-V brigadier general and Army of Republic of Vietnam Armored

Forces major general discuss the civic action program being conducted in the

hamlet of Ben Dinh, near Tay Ninh, September 1968. (National Archives)

The Philippines provided effective support to the United States and its allies in South Vietnam, initially

with the Philippines Contingent (PHILCON) and later the Philippines Civic Action Group-Vietnam

(PHILCAG-V). Most of the Filipinos who volunteered and were sent to serve in Vietnam did their duty with

honor and dignity. And they achieved excellent results. The United States thanks and honors the Filipino

veterans who served in Vietnam.

Note on civic action groups from an Australian observer:

¡°Results [of civil aid programs] were also forthcoming from the

military point of view. ... Villages receiving civic action stated that

these activities were one of the major factors in helping them decide

to return to the Government. One villager commented that projects

were being completed which the Viet Cong had promised years before

but had never carried out.¡±

¡ª Ian McNeill,

To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950-1966

Operation Brotherhood

In 1954, after Vietnam had been divided into a communist North and

a non-communist South, thousands of northern Vietnamese fled south.

Oscar Arellano, president of the Manila chapter of the Philippines Junior

Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) saw it as a humanitarian crisis and

enlisted the support of Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, who

responded thus: ¡°We have been assisted in our hour of need by generous

friends. Shall we then deny our help to our neighbors when they are in

need of it? Human misery knows no national boundaries. By all means,

help them. And if there is anything that I and this government can

do to help, please feel free to come to me.¡± Over the next two years, in

what Filipinos designated Operation Brotherhood, the Jaycees, with the

cooperation of the Philippine government, sent 235 doctors, nurses,

social workers, dentists, and other workers, who treated some 730,000

patients in medical facilities throughout South Vietnam.

Instead, the Philippine house and senate approved an appropriation for

civic assistance. In August 1964, the Philippines sent a contingent of 16

doctors, nurses, technicians, and civic action officers from the Philippine

armed forces to assist ¡°in the advisory effort directed toward psychological

warfare and civil affairs in III Corps,¡± according to the U.S. Military

Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) Command History (1964). The

group was called PHILCON (the Philippines Contingent).

Philippines Civic Action Group-Vietnam

In 1966, the Vietnamese government

requested increased aid from the Philippines,

including combat troops. In response, the

Philippines sent a new detachment to

South Vietnam to replace PHILCON. The

Philippines Civic Action Group-Vietnam

(PHILCAG-V) included an engineer

construction battalion, medical and

rural community development teams,

a security battalion, and a logistics and

headquarters element. They set up base in

Tay Ninh, 45 miles northwest of Saigon, in

the summer of 1966. Over the next 40 months,

PHILCAG-V performed a variety of civic

action tasks, primarily in public works construction, rural development,

and food and medical relief.

Notably, Philippine senator Ferdinand Marcos had led the country¡¯s

refusal in 1964 to authorize combat troops to support the South

Vietnamese war effort. Once he became president, however, he changed

his position and agreed to provide a combat engineering battalion as part

of an increased aid package.

¡°Philuatan¡±

PHILCAG-V was an effective agent of humanitarian aid and civic action,

and was appreciated by the South Vietnamese. Several members of the

first PHILCAG-V remember that the South Vietnamese had a special

nickname for the Filipinos: ¡°Everywhere they went, they were called

¡®Philuatan.¡¯ It means: ¡®Filipinos are Number One.¡¯¡± Apparently, Filipinos

were remembered fondly by many Vietnamese people. Operation

Brotherhood had left its mark.

Air and Naval Bases

Perhaps the greatest contribution by the Philippine government to the

U.S. war effort in Vietnam was the willingness to allow U.S. forces to

continue operations out of Naval Base Subic Bay in Zambales and Clark

Air Base at Angeles City in Luzon, both in the Philippines.

Philippines Contingent

In 1964, in response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson¡¯s ¡°More Flags¡±

campaign, Philippines President Diosdado Macapagal sought funds

from the Philippine congress to send combat troops to South Vietnam.

PHILCAG-V sergeant treats a little girl for body sores while her mother holds

her during the civic action program in the hamlet of Ben Dinh, September 1968.

(National Archives)

Filipino medics fight to keep a U.S. Special Forces sergeant alive at a small

hospital in Vietnam in 1965. (Mike Mealey, Stars and Stripes)

While made up of 2,068 Filipino soldiers at its peak, PHILCAG-V

was a humanitarian mission, not a combat force. The PHILCAG-V

motto sums up the ethos: To build, not destroy; to bring happiness,

not sorrow; to develop good will, not hatred. Nevertheless, the Filipino

soldiers sacrificed 9 dead and 64 wounded during their time in South

Vietnam. PHILCAG-V was fully redeployed back to the Philippines by

December 1969.

Cutters of Coast Guard Squadron One (RONONE) depart for Vietnam after

being refitted for combat service at Subic Bay, Philippines, 1965. (USCG)

A GRATEFUL NATION THANKS AND HONORS OUR VIETNAM WAR VETERANS



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